Vitamin D Supplementation Does Not Improve Symptoms in IBS

FRIDAY, Aug. 6, 2021 (HealthDay News) — For patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), vitamin D supplementation has no impact on improving symptom severity or quality of life, according to a study published online July 30 in the European Journal of Nutrition.

Claire E. Williams, from the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom, and colleagues examined whether vitamin D supplementation improves IBS symptoms in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. A total of 135 participants from the community received vitamin D or placebo for 12 weeks.

At baseline, 60 percent of the participants had deficient or insufficient vitamin D. The researchers observed an increase in vitamin D levels in the intervention arm versus the placebo arm (45.1 ± 32.88 nmol/L versus 3.1 ± 26.15 nmol/L; P < 0.001). However, no difference was seen in the change in IBS symptom severity over time between the intervention and placebo arms (−62.5 ± 91.57 versus −75.2 ± 84.35; P = 0.426). Similarly, no difference was seen in the change in quality of life between the intervention and placebo trial arms (−7.7 ± 25.36 versus −11.3 ± 25.02; P = 0.427).

“This study found no benefit of vitamin D supplementation on either symptoms of IBS or on quality of life measures using standardized assessments,” the authors write. “Notwithstanding any benefit of vitamin D on IBS symptomology, IBS patients should be screened for vitamin D status and supplemented appropriately for general health reasons.”

The study was partially funded by BetterYou Ltd., which supplied the vitamin D supplements.

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